


Squalid

by ToffeeFifi



Series: My Writober 2019 [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, M/M, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, i'll add more when i think of them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-12-20 16:08:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21059456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToffeeFifi/pseuds/ToffeeFifi
Summary: Squalid/ˈSkwɒlɪd/adjective(of a place) extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.Virgil Storm was getting tired of living on the streets alone and scavenging for food. He often steals from the castle bins, but what happens when he bumps into the very Prince Roman while making an exit?





	Squalid

**Author's Note:**

> Writober day 1 is up and I am procrastinating a lot! Hope you enjoy!

Life as a peasant sucked. It meant you couldn't get nutritious food, clean clothes, or healthy water. It also meant scavenging through the bins at the back of the palace and being able to have stealth, so as to not let the guards know you were there. Not many people tried anyway, almost everyone got caught and was sent to the dungeons; and the ones that managed to escape were masters of trickery. So it was pretty much an unspoken rule that no peasants were to search for their food anywhere near the castle grounds.

Virgil Storm knew this, but personally he'd rather have the castle's delectable cakes and cookies than the three day old bread laying in the bottom of the bins of the central village. Sure, the food sometimes had a few bugs on them, but it was still food. At least it wasn't contaminated from the inside, the young boy thought.

It had reached that time again, and Virgil positioned himself directly beside the stack of boxes he had placed up to reach the castle walls. His bright and careful lavender eyes glanced down at the slightly functioning watch around his wrists, softly muttering under his breath.

The small watch gave a beep, but not before being silenced by the boy's finger. Virgil climbed up the boxes, being careful as to not slip, and peeked his small head over the wall. He watched as the guards began to head inside, all but one. _Shit_. That one was standing right in front of the bins; they must have noticed the food was disappearing.

Biting nervously on his lip as his mind raced to come up with a plan, Virgil glanced down at the small pebbles lying on the top of the wall. Those...could be helpful. A devious smile made it's way onto his face as he planned the look on the guard's face when he noticed the food had been stolen again, picking up the pebbles in his hands and aiming towards his left.

Tossing it and quickly ducking, Virgil listened as they collided with the other side of the wall, and almost laughing when the guard immediately rushed towards it. He lifted his feet over the wall and hopped down, dashing towards the bin; the guard wouldn't be distracted for that long.

A smile placed itself on his face at the sight of food, his stomach rumbling in agreement as he began to scoop up as much rations as he could get. Virgil lifted his head at the sound of the guard returning, letting his fingers slip out of the chocolate chip muffins and dash back to the wall.

The young boy huffed as he heaved himself over the wall, dumping his collected items onto the boxes so that he could actually swing his legs over. He was so focused on his escape that he didn't notice a figure perched up on the wall, watching him in curiosity.

**"What are you doing?"**

Virgil yelped as he slipped off the wall, scraping his knee and hitting his head on one of the wooden boxes in the process. He silently cursed and began grabbing the food back in his arms lest this stranger decided to steal it from him.

"Is everything alright, sir?" A polite voice called from the palace gardens as Virgil watched the person look back.

"Yes, sorry. I just frightened a cat, apologies for making you worry." The person called back, as Virgil scrunched his nose up. Okay, people saying that he was short was bad, but now this stranger just called him a cat? The person gave a curt wave before turning his head towards Virgil, noticing how the boy flinched. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you."

Virgil was confused, to say the least. Why would a stranger, of all people, care about him? Why hadn't they taken his food from him? It seemed that they noticed his silence, and hopped off the wall to join him, freezing in their tracks when Virgil began back pedalling and threatening to fall down a staircase of crates.

"Woah woah, hey. Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you." The other male said, aware that the peasant opposite him was scanning his figure. The boy slowly made his way towards Virgil, and once he was sure that the shorter male wouldn't make a run for it, gently took his hands. They was rough, rougher than even his father's hand; there were cuts all over and many bruises. It didn't take him long to notice that Virgil was bleeding, and instantly took out a napkin. "Here, you cut yourself climbing that wall."

Meanwhile, Virgil was having a mini panic attack the moment the stranger linked hands with his. He recognised that face and the hair and the clothing; this was no stranger, it was _Prince Roman!_ Holy shit, he'd bumped into the fucking prince! He was gonna report Virgil, and _he'd be in a lot of trouble_, and-

"Hey, you okay?" 

The sudden soft murmur of the prince made him look up, noticing his soft brown eyes were folded in worry. Once he was sure the boy was responding, Roman gave a smile and chuckled. "It's fine, I know it must be a shock meeting the prince in person." 

"No shit." Virgil found himself saying, clamping a hand over his mouth straight after and awaiting his demise. Strangely enough, it didn't come in the form of a punishment, but in the form of laughter. 

"Oh good, so you can talk. I was beginning to wonder if you were mute like my aunt." Prince Roman said with a grin. Virgil glanced down at what he was wearing, feeling his heart race the moment his eyes made contact with his clothing; he looked fucking poor. (not like he wasn't) 

"I...am not supposed to..be here…" He slowly said, wanting to slink away from this interaction as fast as possible. Virgil was just about getting ready to leave when something being placed against his nose made him hesitate. 

"Sorry, I was just wondering what you would look like if you had a band-aid on your nose." Roman stated, before clasping his hands together. "It looks so good on you! Here, check in my crown!" He gushed, slipping the crown off of his head and holding it out to the peasant. Virgil's eyes gazed up to look at the prince's red dyed hair, before they glanced down at the reflection. 

Virgil felt his face heat up at the compliment and the sight of his new look, quickly hiding it under his hood. "T-Thanks, but I really should be going." He said, glimpsing at the prince for just a second, regretting it almost immediately. 

It looked like he had just punched a puppy; Prince Roman was pouting and sadly putting his crown back on his head. "Aw, but I don't want you to go." He whined, barely noticing how the other's eyes widened. 

"Y-you...you don't?" Virgil whispered in disbelief. 

"Of course not! You're the first friend I've made outside of the palace, and it gets super boring attending parties and going to different meetings." Prince Roman groaned. 

_Friend?_ Virgil had a friend? Was this real, or had he died? 

While the boy was busy contemplating his life's decisions, Prince Roman was busy thinking hard. His face lit up the moment he thought of the idea and smiled up at Virgil. "I know! How about we meet at the park tomorrow? I'll have to bring my two older brother's for 'protection' though, is that okay with you?" 

Virgil bit down on his lip, glancing up at the prince's bright and hopeful eyes. He wanted so badly to say no, and to just dip so that he could eat in peace. But it was so new to him that he had literally talked to him for about 2 minutes and Roman was practically already considering him a friend. His two brothers, however, that may be a problem, but hey. He'd managed to make the prince smile and laugh; something no other peasant had done before. Virgil was unique, and he finally had a reason why. "Sure thing." He finally agreed with a shrug. 

As if the smile on Roman's face couldn't get any wider, it did. "I'm so excited!! Oh!" He paused briefly to rummage for something in his royal robes, as Virgil watched in curiosity. "I saw you looking pretty hard at these. The ones in the bin aren't really that good so I took some from the pantry." 

The boy stared at his hand in disbelief, looking back up into those beaming chocolate eyes. "A-Are you sure I can…?" Virgil stuttered, his hands reaching out to take them. 

"Of course you can! In fact, I'll bring you chocolate chip muffins whenever you like." Roman announced, gently placing the container in the boy's rough hands. "My aunt makes some bomb enchiladas, so I can get you those too if you want." 

After packing his food for the day in a backpack, Virgil looked up at the prince, confusion in his purple orbs. "What's an...enchalida?" He asked. 

"Oh, you're gonna have to try them then!" Roman said with an grin. 

_"Roman, it's time for curfew!"_

"Coming!" Roman called back, giving a small bow. "This is where we bid adieu until next time." 

Virgil gave a little chuckle as he gave a mock  
salute, picking up his backpack. "Adieu, Prince Roman." He said. 

"Call me Roman." The prince replied, before his eyes widened in realisation. "I never got your name!" 

The boy opposite him wrung his hands anxiously, feeling the syllables of his name right on his tongue, but he wasn't quite sure if he could tell the prince his name. 

Roman must have picked up his nervousness and dismissively waved a frantic hand. "It's fine, you don't have to tell me if you're not comfor-" 

"Virgil." It came out as a soft breath as the boy looked back into those brown eyes of his. "You can call me Virgil." 

_"Roman!"_

Virgil gave a soft wave before hopping off the crates and dashing down the street, leaving the prince standing on one of the boxes and watching after him. Roman stared at the direction his new friend had run off to, before jumping back over the wall to head in for curfew. 

His brothers obviously gave him a lecture, Patton more so than Logan, but his words fell on deaf ears as Roman was too busy fawning over what had just happened. 

_Virgil._ His new best friend. 

**Author's Note:**

> Should I make this into a full on story or is it better as a one-shot? It's your call!


End file.
